Things are going slow on the forum these days, as hordes of gazillions forumites are waiting for the big announcement from us!

So... What games are you playing and why?

Latest game I played was the skirmish mode of They are billions, a surprisingly good blend of Steampunk RTS with Tower defense. Waiting now for the campaign for some fresh air.I'm also delving into good old Distant Worlds, but with some additional tools provided by a modder (Roger Bacon) to instill some sense of logic into the civilian sector.

Have just finished the March/April 1917 turn as the Entente in a World War One Gold 1915-scenario campaign. Lots of Command:Modern Air and Naval Combat time as well. The Thirty-Years War and AJE (currently 42-turns into the 2nd Punic War scenario) fills some time-gaps as does some Silent Hunter 3 or MS Flight Simulator-9 rolled back to the 1950s and sixties and generally an Over Flanders Fields mission a couple of times per week.

Have to cut way back on the gaming though as family is coming to visit.

Pocus wrote:Is the AI auto compensating for losses as bad as said on Ultimate General? I did not bought it because of that.

The problem is that the campaign is like in Robert Lee civil war, not a real campaign but battles after one another with imported results. Without a compensation mechanism one would face a gutted AI...

But the tactical engine is a beauty, I have never since the old Talonsoft games felt like a general in the civil war as much as with this game. When you are battling it out at Antietam or first and second manassas, it's amazing.

I recommend it for the tactical engine. The campaign on the other side is a crude way of stringing the battles together. The fantasy would be to have the AACW/CWII campaign with their tactical engine !

I can't wait for the napoleonic game they are working on with the same engine...

Pocus wrote:Is the AI auto compensating for losses as bad as said on Ultimate General?

the UGCW campaign is like in Robert Lee civil war, not a real campaign but battles after one another with imported results. Without a compensation mechanism one would face a gutted AI...

Yes, I felt the compensation was well balanced. However, I soon stoped playing because I felt the game was too badly scripted for my taste, as I never see enemies and reinforcment come in, suddenly it says I lost areas as if I had none scouts warning me, despite I put my main command points in.

Strategic Command Global Conflict pbem. Also playing solo Campaign Series: Middle East 1948-1985. I think it will have DLC about conflicts of Peşmerge; Kurdish militia against pre and after Iranian revolutionary guard.

I see I no longer play Slitherine games, alas, for all their games does not stand my need of a better UI.

I always play:Medieval2 TotalWar-Kingdoms, for his ThirdAge mod (I have the old CD version, plus an anti-drm crack)UFO:Aftershock (XCOM:EnemyWithin is strategically broken, others are on Steam that I don't use)ShadowWarrior2 (infinite sandbox h&s FPS)GrimDawn (prefered H&S with PoExile, but PoE is somewhat elitist)StarCrawlers (forgiving dungeoncrawl with excellent story)Rebuild3:GoDv (4X with nice factions)1Quest (my prefered roguelite, buy it at itchio where there's the last version)

Strategic Command 3 (SC WWII: War in Europe) is the latest iteration of the Strategic Command series, and quite good. It's 50% off right now for Steam Summer Sale to boot. It's basically the same game as SC2, except it's moved back to hexes, has a slightly better UI, and the AI seems a fair bit improved (it's given me a decent challenge). SC series is probably the most fun I've had with turn-based multiplayer outside of AGEOD games.

HOI4 is a fun game too, and has gotten quite a bit better with the latest expansion pack (Waking the Tiger). It's a polarizing game though, as it arcades up a lot of the grand strategy elements. Still, it has some really innovative and interesting concepts (the division building and naval planning are two parts I really like).

Ditto on Hearts of Iron 4 -- that's pretty much the only game I've played for the last year since I purchased it. As you said, base game is greatly improved. I've been playing lately with the Total War mod. Fantastic Focus Tree for Germany.

It is good game I think you can also like Thea: The Awakening. It is about Slavic mythology and has some storytelling. Battles are card game and challenges have many variety. Martial, intellect, stealth, tactics etc.. depends on party members stats.

loki100 wrote:Just started playing Conquest of Elysium .. that is one exceptionally tricky 4x, you can get totally stomped at the start and it can all go very wrong even after you think you are well established

It is a very nice game, I should return to it, I feel I did not gave enough time on it.

I'm currently playing Gladius, quite nice too! The WH40k feeling is definitively there, although I regret that the top tier units are better in all aspects compared to the base grunts. But I always had a weak spot for humble units that manage to do something. It probably has to do with the no stacking rule, where each hex is a precious little thing to garrison with a decent unit. I remember Pandora had stacking and it felt different, an army of basic soldiers if experienced were something to fear (until you did area damages haha)But overall, very very good game. I can't wait for extra races.And sorry if the post sounds promotional, the truth is, Gladius is a success for me.

Yeah excellent, maybe the game I lost the much time, that's why I no longer play:Items is too a micromanagement work, that's the drawback of the richness. I can no more stand this.

Pocus wrote:Conquest of Elysium.

Yes, but it has become a Steam game, so I no longer play.

I'm currently playing Gladius, quite nice too! The WH40k feeling is definitively there, although I regret that the top tier units are better in all aspects compared to the base grunts. But I always had a weak spot for humble units that manage to do something. I can't wait for extra races.And sorry if the post sounds promotional, the truth is, Gladius is a success for me.

Lately I've been playing mostly:Civil War IIOut of the Park Baseball 19Conan Exiles (Xath on server 1502 if anyone wants to say "Hi")and occasionally Thirty Years War, English Civil War and Age of Succession a turn or two at a time.

CoE4 and Dominions 5 runs without steam application in the background even purchased from steam. But it should run with steam once with each patch. Good games but need good pbem community. I don't like pbem community from steam.

I'm having a great time playing the new game Aggressors: Ancient Rome. It's a 4x, currently release scenario is set in the time of the Roman Republic generally at the start of the Pyhric and Carthagenian Wars, and the struggles between the various heirs to Alexander. 19 playable factions, including barbarian tribes. It is VERY moddable, and players have already created everything from Battles on the Rhine, set at a later date, a Lord of the Rings scenario, Troy, the Samnite Wars, and someone is working on an Atlantis mod.